4 Great Ways to Bond With Your Son
One of the best things about having a baby is imagining how they are going to be growing up. What will they like? What will they dislike? Are they going to be the life of the party or a quiet child? Will they share my same interests?
Usually, you can take a guess after finding out if they’re going to be a boy or girl. Common knowledge usually states that boys are much more difficult at the beginning where girls will give you issues upon reaching adolescence.
The childhood of a boy is likely to be filled with plenty of scraped knees, mud piles, and “what in the world are you thinking” moments.
For those mothers that didn’t grow up with brothers, some may find it tough to bond with their son. Of course, every story is different, but you’d like to bond with your child. Not so much where people starting to call you both Norma and Norman Bates, but you want to be close.
Below, we’re going to run through four ways you can bond with your son.
Foster and Encourage His Activities
If you have a son, you might have experienced the following conversation.
“Hey, how was friend’s house?”
“Oh, it was great! We played basketball with his neighbors, had pizza, and then played video games all night.”
“That sounds like fun, how is his sister? Did she pass her driving test?”
“I don’t know, I didn’t ask.”
“OK, what about their vacation?”
“He said it was fun, but I really didn’t ask.”
It can be amazing how much boys can bond without really even talking to each other. Boys bond through activities and it might be frustrating when your son isn’t opening up to you like you’re used to.
That’s why you need to encourage and try to be a part of his activities. If he’s in a sports league, make sure and ask him questions or even volunteer. Be in charge of organizing transportation or finding end-of-the-year items for the league.
Show him you’re encouraging him in his activities and he’ll surely feel closer towards you.
Make Your Own Activities
Not everything has to be wiffleball, hide and seek, or action figures. Think of a mother-son bucket list you can do together and make it to where you both can participate. You might need to start the list yourself, but encourage him to add on things at a later time.
Think about how you can bring him into the kitchen to learn an old family recipe or maybe going to a museum once a month. It can be fun to spend some quality time together while he is learning something new.
Give Him Some Space to Talk
As we mentioned above, boys aren’t big talkers and probably won’t be big talkers anytime soon. While there are plenty of reasons for this, one of the big ones is boys don’t often feel like anybody is listening to them.
Think of a small activity that you and your son can do together. It could be something like playing in the backyard or even a quick walk around the neighborhood. Ask plenty of questions and be ready to listen.
We all know that when we speak about our issues or problems, we’re not looking for a solution but want someone to just listen to us. The same thing can happen with boys. Through dealing with teachers, coaches, scout leaders, parents and more, sometimes it’s nice to have someone listen instead of telling them what to do all the time.
So take the time to listen and hold back any advice.
Give Advice on Dealing With Women
While girls may seem icky and gross now, there will eventually be a time where that’s all they can think about.
It can be tough to toe the line between giving overbearing advice and dropping a nugget of knowledge here and there. You can try simple things, like telling your son that other girls will always look at how a boy treats his mother and sister as an indication of how they’ll be treated.
Be willing to give out advice if asked and also be willing to let them fail. Sometimes, they just have to strike out on their own before finding a right path.
